Jan's and John's Peripatetic Adventure

California Clyde Reunion

We're back in California for a month.

In the photos you see the brand new Virgin Airlines Clubhouse at Heathrow. It's spectacular, they really outdid themselves.

My reunion with Clyde was beyond precious. He's never been more excited to see me again and did somersaults on the chair while purring very loudly. He's so sweet he just breaks my heart. And what an amazing memory he has: he immediately went to the bathroom and demanded to drink from the faucet. The blog will be back in late May, see you then!

Another Farewell to London

It's that time again, today we're flying to California for a few weeks. I hope Clyde remembers me. The past 2 months in London have been fabulous. So much happened! Great friends, great food, great theatre; there were many memorable events. We'll miss London but we'll be back. See you in late May!

Borough Marketing

Today John went to Borough Market with Charlie and his wife Will. John's been there many times because he's the cook around here (I can barely make toast). The market has great stuff including fabulous breads and cheeses but it also has a few really gross things, as you can see, which is probably one of the reasons I've never gone with him.

He took some great photos walking along South Bank with great views of St. Paul's and Tower Bridge. That futuristic building is London City Hall.

It's a gorgeous day today, sunny and 70. Winter is over just in time for us to go back to California tomorrow, sigh. Tonight we're having our farewell-to-London dinner at the exquisite Moti Mahal. I predict there will be pink champagne.

Who Done It?

This evening we saw the famous Agatha Christie play The Mousetrap that's been running for over 50 years.

It was great. The acting was surprisingly good and the play was too, if cliched. The theatre was lovely.

We'd been wanting to see it for ages and I decided it would be a great choice to fill up one of our last evenings in London for this trip. It was really easy to get tickets at the last minute, which is a nice change from all the sold-out-months-in-advance shows. It was better than some of the newer things we've seen too.

A Very Special Gift

Our friend Mary flew back to Boston yesterday. We miss her already.

She gave us a very special gift to thank us for offering her our guest suite while she stays in London as well as some other things we've done to help her with coordinating the opera.

Wow! It's an original program from the archives of The Handel and Haydn Society of a performance of J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion... from 1881. Oh. My. God.

As you can see it's lovely. I scanned the front and inside cover for the blog. The rest is six pages of the text for the St. Matthew Passion.

It is one of the most beautiful and meaningful gifts we've ever received. Thank you, Mary. We feel so lucky to know you.

Hay Fever with Judi Dench

Last night we saw Hay Fever starring Judi Dench and Peter Bowles.

They're two of my favorites ever. Judi Dench has been in a zillion things and is fabulous (I even liked Riddick). Peter Bowles was in To The Manor Born, one of my favorite BBC tv shows ever and, happily, we've seen him on stage before.

The play is very very silly and completely hilarious. The acting was perfection. Judi Dench's timing and energy level were amazing, especially considering some recent performances were cancelled because she had the flu. The entire cast was excellent as well and we loved it.

A Visit with Victoria and Albert

Today we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. It's a fascinating place and a must-see in London. We went in particular to see the Modernism Exhibit which we thought was just ok. I thought it was funny that the description said the Modernists wanted to redesign society and eliminate greed, selfishness, etc. and then there was a drawing of a proposed apartment complex for optimal utopian living which included a section of special apartments for the elite. Hilarious. So much for the elimination of greed and selfishness.

The rest of the museum was great although some of it looked like junk you'd find in a flea market. Shelves and shelves of ugly cut glass and ornate dinnerware. Then again, we were commenting on the mediocrity of a particular shelf of glass containers and then noticed they are Roman 6th century. Wow! But not all of it was like that, a lot of it is just old ugly crap. Also in the glass section was a collection of new glass art which was wonderful, gorgeous stuff. The photo of the glass men is from that section.

BTW, look at the price of that cup and saucer in the Museum Shop: £3,590. WFT? How is that even possible? Would anyone even drink tea out of it? I think it may have been for the set of 3 but whatever.

One of the photos below is an original Virginal which may have belonged to Elizabeth I; it was beautiful. Also, there's a photo of the famous statue depicting George Frederic Handel.

Next, notice the two dresses. The strangely wide one is from around 1800. The next photo is a cocktail dress from 1957. I saw a similar theme. I'll never understand why women walked around with their own built in tables attached but I'm sure they had their reasons.

After the museum we had lunch at a nearby restaurant called Brasserie St. Quentin which was excellent. Another fun London excursion!

Cat Alert

Today on our way to lunch we passed the pub down the street and these two cats were standing in the doorway. OMG, they are so adorable I got chest pains. They were very friendly and sat there and let all the passersby praise their beauty and pet them. I assume they live in the pub which makes it slighly tempting but I'm really not a pub person.

The first photo is particularly precious. You just know he's thinking "Yea, I'm beautiful" which I think is what I was actually saying to him at the time. Once I started taking photos then everyone passing by started taking them. The cats loved it. I wonder if they do this every day...

Dinner with Friends

Last night we went out to dinner with Nancy, Mary and her husband Jim, and Laurence Cummings.

We went to Le Deuxieme and it was excellent, as always. We were a jolly group and had champagne, wine and a few of us even had sticky toffee for dessert.

I feel so lucky to know such interesting and fun people; it was a great evening.

And at last here is a photo of me and Mary. I realized after all this time I didn't have a photo of her and me so John took a few. This one is a little fuzzy because the lights weren't up to full. We took others with better lighting but this one's my favorite. Hi, Mary!

A Night At The Opera

Last night we went to opening night of Monteverdi's Orfeo at The English National Opera. It was truly one of the most memorable evenings we've had in London.

The music itself is a gorgeous, I love Monteverdi. The opening fanfare of the brass gave me chills; it was so amazing to hear such a familiar melody (familiar to me '-) played in such a wonderful venue. The whole opera was fabulous. The design of the production was really beautiful and often even ingenious. The dancers, who came from Indonesia just for the opera, were graceful and elegant. The soloists were excellent and the singer who played Orfeo in particular. What a hard job! He was great.

I didn't get to take photos at the opera because you're not supposed to do that '-) so I took a bunch at... the after-party! Our friend Mary, who is coordinating the opera, had a party afterward in our guest suite where she's been staying with us. Mary and her husband did all the wonderfully festive decorations you see in the photo. The guest suite has never looked better!

At the party I met so many incredibly nice people. I was so excited to be able to meet some of the singers; I totally gushed my praise on them because I really admire what they do. So much talent and hard work, which made tonight's performance so great.

The lights were turned down for the party so I didn't realize my pictures weren't working very well but then I finally turned on the flash for a few more. There's a really fuzzy photo of the dancers, who are adorable. Note to self: in future, turn on the effing camera flash.

I had a couple groupie moments: there is me with Chen Shi-Zheng who is not only incredibly talented but is also charming and very fun. And there is me and Laurence Cummings who is also very talented, delightful and fun. I have several of his cd's so, once again, I got to meet someone whose music I admire which always makes my head spin.

We left the party around 12:45 so I don't know how late it actually went. It was great seeing everyone who worked so hard having a good time. Thank you, Mary, for inviting us to another amazing evening!

Dinner at Jaan

This evening we had dinner at Jaan at the Swissotel The Howard, on the Embankment.

It was one of the best meals we've ever had in London. What an elegant treasure this restaurant is! It's gorgeous, completely non-smoking, amazing cuisine and truly outstanding service. The menu is a little adventurous but they had several things even for a picky eater like me. The photos show my crab starter, duck main, and chocolate dessert. (John's meal was amazing too). The after-dessert was one of the best ever. I usually skip it because I'm too full but the portions were small enough that I could eat everything without feeling like I ate too much.

The last two photos are from our walk home that I thought were neat. A row of phone booths, and a view of the Amphitheatre Restaurant at the Royal Opera House as seen from the end of a little side street.

It was a great evening and Jaan is now on our list of restaurants that we plan to go to often. Yea, that's pink champagne.

When Gay Meant Happy

Today we had lunch with Doris and a delightful friend of hers at a restaurant we've never been to before: The Gay Hussar in Soho.

The restaurant was quite small and very cozy and the food was... fabulous! We loved it. I read that it used to be the hip place for labour government people back in the day and the walls are filled with caricatures, photographs and books. I was told that sometimes famous television faces turn up but today it was just us and many posh businessy-type people.

It was a particularly fun lunch with very enjoyable company and great food. We loved it so much we will definitely be going back and taking our friends there as well.

On the way home we went to the famous Neal's Yard Dairy to get bread. Their cheese is well-known and is sold as far away as... Berkeley, California!

BTW, that beautiful cat is out again this afternoon...

Out and About

Today John is on a museum excursion with a friend so I went out for a bit to get things like toothpaste and the smallest umbrella I can find that will still fit in my handbag.

I took a different route back from Charing Cross Road than I usually do and passed the famous restaurant, The Ivy, so here's a photo. It's a "celebrity" dining spot for famous people mostly from Hollywood. But I don't think we'll be eating there. It's really hard to get into and I'm not that celebrity-crazy. Also, the menu is not exciting. Maybe we'll go there after the smoking ban takes effect.

And here's a photo of the intersection of Long Acre, St. Martin's Lane, Upper St. Martin's Lane, Garrick Street and Great Newport Street. Having to look 5 ways at once to cross the street is a little scary.

Meeting the Ambassador

This evening we went to a reception at Winfield House, the residence of the U.S. Ambassador and his wife.

In my haste to leave our house I forgot my camera. I hate when that happens! So, the photo is one I found on the web. Yea, it really looks like that.

The house is gorgeous, it's like something out of Masterpiece Theatre with beautiful traditional furniture and carpets, spectacular gardens, hedges... complete perfection. The artwork is incredible: Lichtenstein, Rothko, Hopper and many more.

The reception was for the upcoming production of Monteverdi's Orfeo at the English National Opera. Our friend Mary Deissler is working with the English National Opera, coordinating the production with the Handel and Haydn Society so she invited us to the reception and we're going to the premier of the opera this Saturday. I'm so excited, I love Monteverdi!

Chen Shi-Zheng, the Director, was there and is really nice (we had met him a couple times before). I was very pleased to meet the Conductor, Laurence Cummings, whose cd's I've enjoyed for many years. They did a little preview of the opera and it was lovely. The dancers are wonderful and the music is sublime.

After a couple glasses of champagne, I realized this was probably my only opportunity so I walked right up to the Ambassador and introduced myself. He was really nice. I did the same thing to his wife and she was delightful. We also met some other terrific people which made for a lovely evening and a truly memorable event.

New Sidewalk

At 9:00 this morning we were enjoying a somewhat quiet Sunday, reading our books and sipping tea when a godawful noise started right outside. Although since 7 a.m. we had been listening to the faulty alarm at the All Saints store up the street going off periodically for 20 minutes at a time, this noise was worse. Ah, life in Covent Garden, so tranquil. =:-0

I opened the window and peered out to find what you see in the photo. They were using one of those street sawing things to chop up the sidewalk in front of the house. What a noise. Then there's a truck for resurfacing that is producing that melting tar smell. Lovely. I went down to have a word with them to see if we'd be able to leave the house at noon and they were very nice. They moved the barrier in front of our door so there's a little place for us to walk and said it should be done today and will blend perfectly with the rest of the sidewalk. The sidewalk was a mess, with many cracks, etc. and also several patched places from when they were trying to find and repair the gas leak. So it will be nice to have a shiny "new" sidewalk.

Update:

Ok, they finished around 11:00. It's certainly not as seemless as they implied it would be, in fact it's pretty ugly. But I guess it's an improvement over what was there. Sort of.

Cats and Sugar Cubes

Yesterday, John went with Charlie and his wife, Will to the Tate Modern. Observe the giant sugar cubes; a work of genius! Seriously, John said it was very cool. The Tate Modern is a fabulous place and is a must-see in London.

Tonight I looked out the window while we were eating dinner and the cat that lives across the street was sitting on its wall. I'm so cat deprived. I went over to the window and called to it and it looked at me! (wipes away a tear) I realized that in two weeks I'll see my favorite cat Clyde!

Smaller

Last night we saw a new play called Smaller starring Dawn French and Alison Moyet. They were both amazing.

The play was good, with many absolutely hilarious one-liners between the mom and daughter (Dawn French). Of course it then turns dark and tragic and the laughter stops. But it was still good and very well done.

Alison Moyet sang a lot and she's really great. Dawn French is totally amazing, every thing she says and does is hilarious. We were so excited to see the both of them right on stage in front of us.

Concertina Clothes Airer

I bought what I would normally call a wood clothes drying rack at Habitat last year. I decided I wanted a couple more so I can dry more than one load at a time and also have a separate one for the guest suite. Habitat doesn't have them anymore so the search was on. I've been looking for months and couldn't find anything until a couple days ago. Apparently I've been calling it the wrong thing. What I'm looking for is called a Concertina Clothes Airer.

I don't know what words I finally typed into Google but on one of my extensive searches the word "concertina" turned up and then I was a few more searches away from narrowing it down to the link at John Lewis. There were nearly tears when that link popped up.

Ok: concertina? WTF? That is effing obscure. And "clothes airer"? Is "airer" even a word? Never mind, I'm just grateful to have finally found it.

So, we walked to my favorite store John Lewis (it is, really) today and they had an even nicer one made of stainless steel instead of wood and it has many more rungs on it for hanging undies and socks. I'm so happy (wipes away a tear).

We also bought a new toaster because our previous one only had two settings: not-toasted-enough or burnt. AND! They had lots of the nice plastic hangers although I actually didn't need to buy any this time. I am excited to see they are finally available on their web site now.

On our way to John Lewis we walked up Regent Street and there was a crowd waiting outside the Apple Store. No, all those people were not standing there desperate for the store to open so they could buy something. They are the losers who use up the workstations to do their email for free. You can barely try out one of the computers in the store for all the freeloaders. It's one of those things that drives me up the wall.

On our way back there was a Greenpeace protest outside the McDonald's off Leicester Square. I do find McDonald's pretty awful and haven't been to one in years although I did actually eat at that exact McDonald's in April 1996. The people dressed up as chickens were hilarious and were very friendly when I asked to take a photo. Apparently earlier this morning the chickens had chained themselves to the furniture inside McDonald's and had to be removed by the police. I accepted a brochure just to be nice. Hopefully it wasn't printed on paper harvested from the Amazon.

Dinner at Tas

Last night we had dinner at Tas with new found friends, Charlie and his wife, Will.

They are such nice and interesting people! They invited a friend from San Francisco along who was also really nice and also very interesting. The food was excellent and there was way too much of it.

A very fun evening!

The Magic Flute

Today John recorded flutist Chris Britton for release on Magnatune.

Chris is an excellent flutist and a charming person. I left the doors open so I could hear him playing from upstairs and it sounds wonderful. He's playing J.S. Bach which the whole planet knows is my favorite composer ever. Fabulous!

Pigeons and Windows

I shot my first pigeon.

Don't yell, it was only water! I used my trusty Pumpmaster 460 for the first time this morning. The pigeon came back a few times so I squirted it again. I will keep it up, hoping (probably in vain) that it will decide the wall behind our bedroom is not a fun place to perch (and make noise).

Yesterday we hung up the fabric samples all over the house to decide which color should go in which room. Here are a few choices in the bedroom window which requires privacy but also needs to let in as much light as possible because we like to wake up to a bright bedroom. This fabric is not only lovely but the weave is amazing and provides privacy as well as letting in a lot of light. We've chosen the bronzish gold color for our bedroom and guest suite downstairs, the pale blue for the media room (it complements the blue sofa nicely) and the cream for my my home office. The upstairs living room will have the previous shades reinstalled since they still fit, unlike every other window in the house. We're really tired of the bare windows so having the shades will be so nice.

Now if I can get rid of those pigeons my life will be complete...

Burgers and Champagne

Today we went to lunch at Burger Shack in Soho. It was nice: clean, non-smoking, easy service, ok burgers. I was pleased to see they had a bar so we had champagne. Burgers and champagne, yummy.

On the way home we walked down Regent Street and stopped at Hamleys toy store and bought one of those power water gun things so I can scare away the pigeons that collect outside our bedroom window. They sound like newlywed's in the next room at a motel and the noise wakes me up nearly every morning. My plan is to terrify the pigeons by squirting water at them so they will find somewhere else to hang out. John says there will be photos coming soon '-)

Then we walked through Leicester Square where preparations for a movie premier appeared to be taking place. It was at one of the theatres other than the giant Odeon and was a little pathetic, the crowd was pretty small. Well, it is Ice Age 2 after all.

Lazy Day

Today I did... nothing!

Yes, nothing is my favorite thing to do. I sat on the sofa and read most of the day. The flowers that Jane brought the other evening bloomed and look lovely.

The sun comes and goes during the day and it's quite warm at 62. It rained buckets for about 15 minutes this morning, then it hailed, then the sun came out. Typical April London morning.

No plans for this weekend. Reading, eating, napping. Yea, I'm lazy.